


Front Man

by Fabrisse



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-28
Updated: 2011-02-28
Packaged: 2017-10-16 00:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/166320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fabrisse/pseuds/Fabrisse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's time for the Warblers to prepare for Regionals.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Front Man

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Christmas Exchange at the LJ community DaltonAcademy for Infraredphaeton.

"There's a reason we rely on Blaine for this. That's all I'm saying." David seemed very earnest as he spoke to Kurt.

Wes chimed in. "I've done it, of course, but he's better at it. I wish it weren't true. I mean, you remember the middle song at sectionals, the one where Joey sang lead?" When Kurt nodded, he continued, "Don't let that happen. This is Regionals, you know?"

Kurt looked like a squirrel spying an oncoming terrier. "I know. I get it. I'll be good."

David nodded solemnly. "We trust you."

Then he and Wes left the room.

***   
When Blaine came in about ten minutes later, Kurt was chewing his lower lip.

Blaine grinned at him. "They gave you the speech, right?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like I haven't sung a solo before -- though since that wasn't before a full audience, maybe I haven't." He looked a little panicked at the thought, then pulled himself together. "This isn't even all that solo, comparatively speaking, but they're making it sound… major."

"It's the difference between a real show choir and an acapella group. I have no doubt you could do something killer, possibly including your being tossed around like Eleanor Powell in a big finale…"

Kurt smiled sweetly, "I love that you referenced Eleanor Powell," he said and bumped Blaine's shoulder.

"She's one of my favorites. But, not getting sidetracked, here." He looked a little more intently at Kurt's mouth than he thought he should, and reluctantly pulled himself back to the subject. "The thing is, a show choir can have as many different things going on as there are members. They have a band or something backing them. If one person goes a little off, as long as they don't impinge on someone else's space, it probably won't even be noticed. If one of us goes off, the whole performance goes with him."

Kurt said, "All right," but his voice was dubious. "You mean if one person goes off key, the rest of us end up matching him and the whole thing goes off key."

"That's actually not too bad. As long as we keep our relative pitch, yeah, we'll get downgraded, but it's livable. You'd be surprised how many people in the audience won't even notice."

Blaine sat down on the sofa, and patted the spot next to him. Kurt sat down.

"Do you have perfect pitch?" Blaine asked.

"No. Good relative pitch, I've been told."

"Excellent relative pitch from what I've heard. Wes _does_ have perfect pitch. He'll be over your right shoulder. So you'll find yourself turning your head to the right to make certain you're on the correct note."

"Because I'll take my pitch from him. Okay." Kurt nodded.

"The beat boxers will give you the rhythm, but once the performance starts, they'll speed up or slow down depending on you. That's why the front man needs to have them in his sightline at the beginning of the piece. And why they're always in the back. That's also the reason why I started out in the middle of a horseshoe at the beginning of _Hey, Soul Sister_ \-- I could see both beat boxers out of the corner of my eye."

"And you started _Teenage Dream_ by looking at Russ."

Blaine grinned and said, "Exactly. You're getting it." He thought for a second, and then said, "Do you know why you were positioned to my left in the very front during _Hey, Soul Sister_?"

Kurt shook his head. "I guess it wasn't because you needed the high notes close by."

"If you hadn't corrected yourself on the movement, I could have pulled you out of the line and up with me at the front. That way, everyone would have seemed to be in step. You actually corrected pretty quickly and by the end, you were great."

"But the one who knows the choreography the least well gets put somewhere…"

"Either very inconspicuous where he can't throw off the others, or like we did with you." Blaine patted his knee. "You did amazingly well for learning three parts in one week."

"All right. So we're onstage in some sort of formation that lets me hear Wes for my pitch, see the beat boxers for my rhythm, and then what?"

"Then you have to make certain you're in control of the group. We do a lot of step-touch-sway-snap fingers moves because it keeps everyone together, but when you're in front, your gestures keep control of the dynamic." He spread his hands out flat with a flourish. "When I'm leading, that move gets everyone to go softer or, on one song, stop and breathe before coming back in. The group will adapt from soloist to soloist, but some of the gestures need to be consistent and they have to have enough of a flourish that the back row of singers can tell what you're doing."

Blaine stood and said, "Stand behind me. I'm going to walk through some of the basics." He recited the words to _Hey, Soul Sister_ and walked through some of his usual moves. He did the "go quiet" flourish that he'd just shown Kurt, and added a little shoulder shrugging to it. "Do you see that? It keeps time for the people behind me while the beat boxers are silent. When they come back in, they'll be taking the time from me." He continued through to the point where he punched the air and spun.

"Does that indicate a place to emphasize the lyric?" Kurt asked.

"Nah, that's just me showing off. You'll need to figure out a couple of points to do that as well. We don't have the showy dancers or precise choreography, so the lead needs to be able to draw the eye." He looked Kurt up and down. "Not that you'll need to do much. A - you're doing a ballad, and B - you're gorgeous."

Kurt blushed. "I don't think most people would…"

"Yes, they will. Trust me." Blaine smiled sweetly. "Now, I'm going to stand behind you, and watch you do your thing. I'll make suggestions. Again, you have a ballad, so I don't expect too much more than walking forward and pulling in the group especially on the killer harmonies we've worked out for the bridge."

"Here goes." Kurt walked it through a couple of times with Blaine's guidance. When they were both sure he had it, he said, "I can't believe David suggested me for this."

"I can't believe Wes listened to you about how to beat Vocal Adrenaline." Blaine grinned. "Now let's work on our transition from your lead to mine."

***   
A week and a half of rehearsals later, The Warblers opened their set with "Yes We Can, Can" and saw Vocal Adrenaline's eyes go wide in perfect unison as they laid down the funk. Kurt stepped forward for the lead in Des'ree's "You Gotta Be."

Blaine grinned as he watched his friend control the two halves of the group as they did the antiphonal bridge David and Wes had thrown into the arrangement. Kurt looked good center stage. They came to a flat stop, with Kurt spinning to walk back into the group with a perfect flourish.

They dapped as Blaine moved to the center of the horseshoe, Wes behind his right shoulder, keeping an eye on the beat boxers in his peripheral vision. The Warblers started their final song: Jason Mraz's "Make it Mine."

Whoever won today, The Warblers knew they'd given a terrific performance.

**Author's Note:**

> Songs:   
>  Yes We Can, Can  
> You Gotta Be  
> Make it Mine


End file.
